Hulkenberg to race for Porsche at Le Mans along with F1

Nico Hulkenberg and Porsche Motorsport announced that the Sahara Force India F1 driver will race at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of a team that will drive a third car for the German marque at the fabled sportscar racing event that is part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) calendar.

The German will pilot the same 919 Hybrid LMP1 prototype racer that is driven by former F1 race and test drivers Mark Webber and Neel Jani.

It will be the first time since 2009 that an active F1 driver will compete at Le Mans, which was when Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais was racing for Scuderia Toro Rosso and also competed with Peugeot and finished second overall along with compatriots Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin.

From the 1950s and up until the 1980s it was not uncommon to see F1 drivers participating as regulars in sportscar racing along with other racing disciplines. The practice became uncommon with the internationally spread out F1 calendar as well as the rising profile of Grand Prix racing making drivers opt out of competing in other forms of motorsport simultaneously.

It is a move that Hulkenberg will no doubt relish as the former Formula 3 Euroseries, GP2 and A1 GP champion has struggled to find a place among one of F1's top teams.

The German's height and unwillingness to actively promote himself - instead believing that his 'driving should do the talking' - has been cited as the chief reasons for him having to settle for midfield level teams up until now.